TREASURER Wayne Swan has urged BHP Billiton to end its threats and consult with Labor over the proposed resource super profits tax as Fortescue Metals added to the pressure by shelving new projects worth $17 billion.
Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Andrew Forrest announced his company would suspend work on the $US9 billion ($10.57 billion) Solomon Hub project and the $US6 billion Western Hub project, in Western Australia's Pilbara region, because an internal review determined that the company's financing strategy for the projects would not be viable if the tax were implemented.
According to The Australian Financial Review, the tax has also made prospective customers of Santos's Gladstone LNG [liquefied natural gas] project in Queensland wary, the company's chief executive, David Knox, revealed.
And, OZ Minerals chairman Neil Hamilton said his company would not be able to finish a feasibility study for a potential $300 million project at its Prominent Hill copper and gold mine in South Australia until more detail of the new tax was known.
Responding to the threat that projects such as BHP's Bowen Basin coalmine in Queensland and Olympic Dam in South Australia may not go ahead, Mr Swan said it was normal for the mining industry to put projects on hold for a variety of reasons and called on companies to come to the table rather than foment a "fear campaign".
Email a friend